Business Tycoon Leaps To His Own Death

(TargetDailyNews.com) – A 64-year-old businessman who co-founded the movie ticket service Fandango is dead after leaping to his death from the window of a hotel in Manhattan on July 16th.

Michael Cline left a suicide note to his loved ones apologizing, and saying he could not explain “the pain” and “I love you all.”

Cline was staying in room 28 of the Kimberly Hotel in midtown Manhattan when he jumped from the 20th floor, landing in the hotel’s courtyard on July 16th. He leaves behind six children.

Apparently, Cline had just received gallbladder surgery, leaving his survivors even more shocked.

Described as a “serial entrepreneur,” Cline owned mansions in exclusive and pricy areas of Connecticut and Palm Back, Florida. He was a partner at the firm Accretive which helps fund fledgling companies, and this was just one of many businesses Cline worked with or for over his career. Cline was also a chairman at a similar startup-funding company called Juxtapose.

He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell before earning a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard. Fordham University recently praised his business acumen and described Cline as an inspiration to students who advised them to “work with people you trust.”

He was best known for his role in founding the online movie ticket company Fandango in 2000, where he stayed until 2011. For years, Fandango was the premiere online spot for reserving cinema tickets ahead of time. It was eventually bought out by Comcast and is now owned by Warner Brothers and NBCUniversal.

Cline’s founding partner at Fandango, Art Levitt, said Cline was highly intelligent and creative. Most importantly, he said, Cline was “loyal,” staying with projects even when they became difficult. He said his friend was also “an adventurer.” It was Levitt who convinced Cline to jump into a joint movie ticket venture.

Though there is obviously no doubt what caused Cline’s death, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office has determined it was a suicide, ruling out any foul play.